Inner Strength
by Perpetual Dreams
Summary: After a particularly devastating event, Alfred F. Jones realizes just how strong his people truly are. An extremely late response to Hurricane Sandy. Rated T for Tony.


I actually handwrote parts of this fanfic in the week subsequent to Hurricane Sandy, which wrecked the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. I never quite finished it, though, and decided to take a bit of time to actually complete this one-shot. So I hope you enjoy this; I apologize for the deterioration of my writing style again, as well as for any grammatical errors prevalent in this fic. I still don't have a Beta but what can I do? C'est la vie.

Anyways, I hope that you will enjoy this one-shot.

**I do not own Hetalia in any way, shape, or form.**

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Inner Strength

It was a calm day; gray clouds stretched across the sky, shielding the normal shade of aqua from view. However, this current weather did not deter Alfred F. Jones from taking a stroll down the street.

The personification of America had been walking down the sidewalk for some fresh air. He and Tony had been playing a few rounds of video games when Alfred announced that he needed some fresh air.

This was how Alfred found himself walking through the streets of Washington D.C. With a blink of his blue eyes, the blonde stopped his trek.

The streets were quiet.

Too quiet.

Where _was_ everybody?

Alfred scratched his head, confused. It was unnatural to see the streets this empty; even on a holiday, there was the occasional passing of cars, a scattered amount of playing children, and the few relaxing adults that sat on their porches. It was as if this city had been abandoned—like a ghost town in the mid-west during the earlier days of the 1800s. But today was not a national holiday.

So where did everybody go?

As the blonde wracked his mind for an explanation, a dull, throbbing feeling began to prickle at his side. Alfred brushed the feeling aside, his mind set on figuring out what was going on. The strange sensation initially disappeared. Then, without any form of warning, the pain intensified until it became unbearable. Alfred went down to his knees, clutching at his side, gritting his teeth, until he finally fell forward, feeling his vision wane. He dimly noted how the pain was reminiscent to the battering forces of wind and water before fully blacking out.

* * *

Alfred woke up to a white-washed room, wrinkling his nose at the sterile smell that filled the air. The first thing that greeted him was the rhythmic beat of a heart monitor.

He was at the hospital. Just great.

Alfred loudly groaned upon that realization, weakly raising an arm to cover his eyes, realizing that his glasses were not there. Where was Texas and what exactly happened to him?

Oh, that's right. He had been walking when that sudden flare of pain assaulted his senses. How odd; it wasn't natural to suddenly feel pain, much less pain that was strong enough to knock a superpower out cold like that. He was a hero and he had succumbed to that sudden pain!

How embarrassing.

Alfred slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position, purposefully moving slowly and cautiously. He still felt slightly sore from that episode and he didn't wish to accidentally inflict anymore pain. Glancing about, he found his pair of glasses on the nightstand beside his bed. He reached out and grabbed the glasses, putting the pair on. He didn't feel right without Texas…

The blonde suddenly looked towards the doorway when he heard the pitter-patter of footsteps. A small, gray alien entered the room, pushing an unoccupied wheelchair. "Tony!" Alfred exclaimed with a wide grin, "Hey dude!"

The alien nodded in response. "Bitch. Fucking limey."

"Hm? My boss wants to speak with me?" a slim eyebrow went up towards the hairline.

Tony nodded once again.

"I see." Alfred threw his legs over the edge of the bed and shakily stood up, falling directly onto the wheelchair. "Well, lead the way!"

Tony began to dutifully push the American out of the hospital room, making his way outside. Alfred cheerfully greeted a few staff members as he was pushed through the corridors, to the lobby, and finally to the outdoor lawn of the hospital. He appreciated being away from the hospital's sterile smell, enjoying the fresh air greatly. Tony stopped pushing the wheelchair, pointing towards a group in the distance. The nation squinted slightly, recognizing his boss at the podium. "What's going on?"

"Fucking."

"A speech in response to a hurricane?" Alfred fell quiet for a moment. "…that explains why my side suddenly began to hurt and why it still feels sore. Those poor people who were devastated by this storm. I don't feel much like a hero anymore." He shook his head, deciding to keep quiet so he could try to hear what his boss had to say about this.

"This is going to take a long time to clean up. The good news is that we will clean up and we will get through this. But America is stronger," the man at the podium confidently stated, glancing around at the many who were gathered around him, "My message to the governors, as well as to the mayors, is anything they need, we will be there. And we're going to cut through red tape. We're not going to get bogged down with a lot of rules. We want to make sure that we are anticipating and leaning forward into making sure that we've got the best possible response to what is going to be a big and messy system."

Alfred stared with minutely widened eyes as the many people rose to their full heights, roaring with approval, shouting, screaming, and clapping furiously. Even with all of that destruction, how could his people possibly remain this optimistic? This eager to help those that had been devastated by the storm? America was so caught up in his thoughts that he nearly missed the next words that his boss continued to say.

"In times like this, one of the things that Americans do is we pull together and we help out one another. There is no excuse for inaction." The president took a moment to pause as he began to wrap up his speech.

Tony turned away from the cheering humans, staring at Alfred. He cocked his head slightly, watching the nation closely. "Fucking?"

The blonde had shut his blue eyes but there was a small smile on his lips. He should've known. His people were not one to give up and surrender so easily. They're not rigid; they're elastic. Knock them down as much as you want; they'll just find a way to get back up. They're not weak; they're strong deep within and in numbers. It was during times like these where civilians unite to perform a task in which they have a common purpose.

And it is exactly what these people are doing right now.

Alfred felt at ease. Why did he worry and feel so horrible about what happened? His people will be able to take care of this. Sure, they may need a bit of guidance, but they'll be able to find their way after they receive a slight nudge towards the right direction. His people truly were strong at heart.

And he couldn't ask for anything more than that.

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Yes, I actually took quotes from the speech that President Obama made after Hurricane Sandy made its path of destruction. I felt that I should actually take his words to show how strong we citizens were, despite the widespread destruction that was left behind. Many of us sprang into action and did many volunteering events to help those in need. I was affected by the Hurricane; I lived on the Eastern Seaboard. However, I was one of the lucky ones whose house didn't wash away, for example. I only had to suffer through a week of no power. It could've been much worse but I'm glad that it wasn't. I feel sorry for those who still are going through difficulties because of this disaster.

That aside, I hope that you enjoyed this.

Read and review, please. ^^


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